HELP! 2004 Audi B6 S4 Cabri. Clutch sensor
 

Recently I had been having troubles with my 04 b6 s4 with starting her up in the cold. It would take a good 15-20 seconds of holding the key turned and the clutch in to get it to start. And then 1 morning it just stopped altogether on me. I'm wondering whether or not its the Starter gone bad from holding it for so long when i tried to start it, because i held it for a good 2-3 minutes each time i tried to start, or whether it is the Clutch Sensor that has gone bad on me. If its the clutch sensor i would honestly rather bypass it. From the people i've talked to it wouldn't do any harm to the car as long as the car is in neutral, and if you're driving an S4 and try to start it in gear without the clutch pushed in you're just a not very smart person.
The car is no longer under warranty so i'm willing to work with a simple way to bypass if its the sensor, and if anybody has any opinions on how i can fix this at minimal cost that would be great. Thank you